Why in News?
- Recently, At the U.N biodiversity conference in Canada, India called for the establishing a New Biodiversity Fund to support developing countries successfully implement a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework(GBF).
About Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)-
- GBF is a new draft published by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat to guide global actions to reduce biodiversity loss and preserve nature through 2030.
- The framework will replace the Aichi Biodiversity Target. It will define targets and pathways for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for the next decade and beyond.
- Its recommended goals comprise reducing pesticide use by at least two-thirds and removing the most harmful subsidies, like fisheries and agricultural subsidies.
- The GBF’s 30×30 target is to safeguard at least 30 percent of the planet (especially areas of particular importance – land and sea – for biodiversity) by 2030.
- Under the CBD, Once approved unanimously by all 195 countries, the GBF will be signed as a global agreement to take specific measures under 23 proposed targets by 2030.
- Targets that are not accepted by one or more countries will not be involved in the Framework.
Recent Issues-
- At CBD COP15, developing countries asked a new and dedicated biodiversity fund, claiming that current multilateral sources are inefficient of meeting the GBF’s requirements.
- Differences with rich countries on the issue prompted representatives from developing countries to walk out of vital financing talks.
- As per Indian point of view, developing countries bear the majority of the burden of implementing biodiversity conservation targets and, consequently, sufficient funds and technology transfer are needed.
- The most crucial challenge is the availability of resources for GBF implementation. Greater ambition comes at a higher cost, and the burden of that cost falls disproportionately on the countries that can least afford it.
- It emphasized India’s position that the GBF’s goals and targets should be both ambitious and achievable.
- Because climate change has an impact on biodiversity, biodiversity conservation must also be based on Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) and Respective Capabilities.
CBDR Principle-
- CBDR was set up as the seventh principle of the Rio Declaration, which was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992, and is defined as states having common but differentiated responsibilities in light of their many contributions to global environmental degradation.
- Though, applying the CBDR principle to biodiversity conservation has been more challenging than applying it to climate negotiations, and there have been regular disagreements between the global north and south on the issue.
- At the CBD COP15, the parties are also attempting to reach an agreement on removing environmentally harmful subsidies, for example those for fossil fuel production, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, by at least $500 billion (one billion = 100 crore) annually and reinvesting the money in biodiversity conservation.
India’s View-
- India does not agree on decreasing agricultural subsidies and redirecting the savings to biodiversity conservation because there are several other national priorities.
- Agriculture is a critical economic driver for rural sector in developing countries, and the critical help provided to these sectors cannot be redirected.
- The majority of India’s rural population is dependent on agriculture and related sectors, and the government provides various subsidies, involving seed, fertilizer, irrigation, power, export, credit, agriculture equipment, and agriculture infrastructure, to support the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers.
- When it comes to food security, prescribing numerical targets for pesticide reductions is irrelevant, according to India, and should be left up to countries to decide based on national circumstances, priorities, and capabilities.
- Some of the measurable targets in the draft GBF involve a two-thirds reduction in pesticides.
COP15-
- The most significant biodiversity meeting in a decade, COP15, was convened in December.
- It seeks to accomplish a historic agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss on par with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, in which all countries agreed to keep the rise in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
- The draft GBF, which will replace the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, comprises 22 targets and four goals for 2030- a stepping stone toward the 2050 goal of Living in Harmony with Nature.